Think or Sink

[Viridian]

Another oldie. Thanks to Lomax for bringing the tale back into my mind.

[Lomax]

Well I liked it anyway. This is obviously not a site to post stories to if you're after feedback.

[jack c]

I contemplated a quiz show idea. I am glad you posted this - no way could I have done this as well. Good post.

[quagmire_uk]

Alas originally I never bothered to read it, simply because I hate quiz shows. Uterlly. Completely. Total hatred.

I fancied reading something quicksand related so I gave this a shot...and yeah, you did a nice job on it. But it was still a quiz show, so I still can't say it was great.

There are some people that hate science fiction, and some people that hate horror movies, and some people that hate murder mysteris, even if you show someone one of the best exampels of a sci-fi movie or a truly fantastic horror movie or a great whodunnit, they still aren't likely to enjoy it, beyond a "it was well directed/well written" level.

Fortunately I happen to like pretty much all genres of movie and TV show, but the one thing I can't stand on telly is quizzes. When I watch television I want to see a great story or learn stuff from a current affairs program or documentary, not see some random person I don't know potentially win or not win a prize, since there's no way for me to win that prize and why should I care if some random Joe Bloggs I don't know wins a prize, if there's no way for me to win anything?

Especially because the presenters on such quizzes are usually so irritating, with their daft catchphrases and silly banter and their ways of drawing things out and trying to build suspense and so on. I was in shocked disbelief when I saw my father watching Deal or No Deal, as I find Noel Edmonds especially irritating and I couldn't understand how he could bear to watch it.

Anyway, I did get some enjoyment from your story... because it had WOMEN IN QUICKSAND in it.

[Viridian]

I recall watching Deal or No Deal, sitting there amazed at how mindless and stupid the contestants could be. I'm vaguely familiar with the selection process for contestants, usually requiring an interview to determine if you have an appropriate personality for the show. That personality has something along the lines of "Can think out loud for 30 minutes".

I contemplated how bad I would be for Deal or No Deal. A typical contestant would banter for five minutes each suitcase ("Hm, I wonder if you have the $10,000. Do you have the $10,000?" "Well, I might. Then again, I might not." "I could pick you and get $10,000, or I could the $8000 from the bank..." etc.). I'd be like "Well, there's a 33% that I'll get the big money, so I'll just pick #5".

I can imagine the producer nudging me and saying "You're supposed to act dumb".

[quagmire_uk]

Indeed, that's the other thing I forgot to mention, usually the contestants are incredibly dumb too. Of course there are exceptions... and those shows tend to have the less annoying presenters, too.

Anyway, yeah, you're story was well-written, you created a very convincing brainless quiz TV show.

[Lomax]

I recall watching Deal or No Deal...

I watched that once. I started out by assuming that I must be missing something. When I found out that I wasn't, I was fascinated by the total inanity of it.

I would like to draw a distinction between Quizzes and Game-Shows. D-o-n-D is a Game Show, as is Think or Sink. They take TV to depths that even Britain's Got Talent fails to plumb. But I enjoy Quizzes. Earlier this year I appeared on Mastermind. No, I didn't win; no, my specialist subject was not Quicksand.

[quagmire_uk]

I never really thought of a distinction between game shows and quiz shows and just thuoght they were two names for the same thing, but yeah shows like Mastermind and University Challenge and so on are rather different - Contestants must have proven they are smart to get onto the show in the first place, and there is no prize other than the satisfaction of suceeding, and a glass bowl or some other trophy like that.